Radio mainstay Bill Drake takes to the page

Bill Drake

Radio host Bill Drake poses with his book, “Awake With Drake: Conversations With a Radio Institution.”

Michael Justus/michael.justus@shj.com

By JEREMY JONESFor the Herald-Journal

Published: Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.

Bill Drake swivels in his chair behind the L-shaped desk. He seems perfectly at home surrounded by microphones, a soundboard, laptop, keyboards, tape decks and miscellanea of the radio business.

Facts

Get 'Awake With Drake'

“Awake With Drake” is available at the Spartanburg County Public Library Headquarters bookstore.

At his right elbow is a copy of his new book, “Awake With Drake: Conversations With a Radio Institution.” It's filled with tales from a rich life on the radio and in service to the Spartanburg community.

Looking up from next week's schedule, Drake puts down his pen, smiles a greeting, and says he's just returned from serving lunches at a soup kitchen. Volunteering there “is the most satisfying, most gratifying thing I've ever done,” he said.

Born in Chicago, Drake came to Spartanburg in 1976. He's worked five markets in his career: Ripon College in Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wis., Milwaukee, Columbia, and Spartanburg. He settled in Spartanburg because his wife, Judy, “liked the town” and they both loved the people they met here.

His first year here, Drake designed Battle of the Brains, an “awareness/current events/academic knowledge quiz bowl” for seventh- and eighth-grade students in Cherokee, Greenville, Spartanburg and Union counties. These days, 36 schools participate.

“That's what made me here,” Drake said. “The schools.”

Battle of the Brains is a hot topic with Drake, but so, too, are his radio station and the many hundreds of people he has gotten to meet and talk with on air.

Drake's radio show, “Awake With Drake,” which he runs with Tom Herndon, has moved around town over the years, from studio to trailer to studio. When the current owners of the station almost canceled the show, thousands of listeners petitioned to keep Drake on the air. His show has been on WOLT 103.3 FM since 2005 and currently airs from 6 to 9 a.m. Sunday through Friday.

Drake has spent more than half a century in the radio business, and a quarter of a century in Spartanburg.

“I've never really worked,” Drake said. “Work was when I had to work in the factory to pay for college.”

For many in Spartanburg, Drake seems always to have been on the air.

“Every time I start thinking of quitting, we have a good month,” Drake said.

In an industry saturated with rock 'n' roll playlists and shock jocks, Drake is a familiar voice on the airways. A master of what he calls “relationship radio,” Drake makes it a point to “weep with those who weep, and cheer with those who cheer.”

He also does a good bit of “rambling on.”

“My wife said, ‘That's what you do best,' ” Drake said with a laugh. “Just do it with other people who haven't heard it all before.”

About two years ago, Perry Allen Wood, who ordinarily writes about NASCAR, began interviewing Drake.

After many hours of tape, Wood and Drake had nearly 500 pages. The manuscript found its way onto the desk of Susan Thoms at the Kennedy Free Press, the “publishing arm of Spartanburg County Public Libraries' local history and genealogy program.” Thoms cut the manuscript down to a few hundred pages, and the book was released as the Press' debut title.

The resulting book serves as a sort of highlight reel of greatest plays from a man who socialized with Harrison Ford in college, sang with Al Jarreau, did play-by-play for South Carolina Gamecock football, and who — most importantly — interviewed his friends and neighbors from Spartanburg and the Upstate.

In recent years, Drake finds himself saying, “I'm too old” and “I don't have time” more and more. Mostly, he has had to step back from chairing boards and sitting on committees.

He still serves lunches at the soup kitchen when he can, though, and he's running Battle of the Brains and “Awake With Drake” with more enthusiasm than ever.

Each day is a juggle for Drake. He's on the air Sunday through Friday in the mornings. He teaches on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the University of South Carolina Upstate. He doesn't announce for as many sporting events these days, but he still gets around. In fact, he visits every one of the 36 schools involved with Battle of the Brains at least once, often more.

That's a lot of driving.

“But I enjoy getting to know people!” Drake said.

And, of course, that's a lot of “rambling on,” too.

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